The Germans make excellent hand tools. I have a 1/4” drive socket set that I picked up at ALDI’s for $14.99 about 5 years ago. Everything in the set is made in Germany. The ratchet has replaceable internal parts, all the chrome is matte finished and everything always fits and works perfectly. Amazing quality for $15.00!
Aldi's has some good deals on random tools now and then. I got so e good jack stands there once. And a mini table vise with a locking suction cup bottom long time ago. They are a German company. And being eropean all the food they sell has basically no chemicals. As they don't allow alot of junk in their food over there. Aldi's is a great place over all.
Yes, the thinner open-ends on those Stahlwille wrenches is handy. Exact reason why I have one 19/32" (I use it as a 15mm) Stahlwille wrench in the brake service drawer...for holding those slide pins.
I like the knipex plier wrench, only thing is I wish they made one with the jaws in line with the handle and not on an angle. I’ve had those pliers for over 20 yrs, all three sizes :)
Sweet! Love all of them, the pliers look really handy and well made. I would have killed for that hazet ratchet when trying to change out my vent mode door under the dash. So little space, but got it done it the end
Went ahead and ordered that Hazet bit ratchet from JensPutzier.com (a cool German family business and authorized dealer). Awesome quality and bit retention. Update: ended up ordering the wrenches too. Was looking at a set of thin wrenches in metric & when I saw how thin those Stahlwille wrenches were, at the sale price from Handtools-From-Germany, could not pass them up either! So thank you for showcasing both!!
just a short comment on the video, in Europe all the big brands of hand tools (hazet, gedore, proxxon, unior, usag,...) are matte finish, and the cheaper and poor quality ones are shiny chrome
One thing about the age-old debate on "matte" vs. "shiny" chrome finish, from a German perspecive: Most professional hand tools in Germany & Austria have that matte / satin finsh, and here it is a hallmark of tools that are actually used by real Pros, due to its superior handling with oily fingers AND the higher durability of the chrome plating. No real wrencher likes to play the "catch the soap bar" game when having to change sockets or fish a wrench out of his/her cantilever tool box with oily hands. What is sold here in Europe with super-shiny polished chrome surfaces is USUSALLY only the cheapest stuff made from "CHINESIUM", soft as cheese or brittle as glass i.e. totally useless junk that You'd better give your mother-in-law as a gift. So any serious wrencher won't even look at it...except when it is from SNAP-ON, b/c we've heard about it. In North America it is the other way around: A tool with a "German"-style matte finish & looks to it might as well come from a sweart-shop forge in India or Pakistan or similar places known for their specific qualities. ;)
Yet another great video I have found in your library. I enjoy the variety of topics that you share with your audience. I'm definitely going to check out HFG. I did price some of the Ko-Ken products little pricey but maybe that's because those are the items being sold in the states may have to go to Amazon Japan or is there another site for Ko-Ken that you would suggest? The Germans have always made good Precision products. Working on their cars is a whole other story LOL
I have the wera 1/4 hex bit ratchet. Can't say exactly but the wera looks a lot smaller so it will fit in very tight places, I guess the hazet is better quality as the wera after some use has become considerably more wobbly. Wera is not made in Germany, Hazet is.
I’m interested in your opinion of the German wrenches after you’ve been using them for a while. I prefer them but I grew up using them and the thin I-beam style is my go-to. The Stahlwille fit around a bolt or nut is very tight, too. Love it, Colleagues that I’ve lent them to are mixed about them tho. For the light assembly and disassembly jobs they get good feedback but the guys that like to gorilla on a wrench say the thin German one cuts into their hand in a way the fatter US ones don’t. To a man, though, they say the fit of a Stahlwille on a nut/bolt is peerless.
Depends on the specific model of the wrench: STAHLWILLE's No. 14 for example has an I-beam with rather broad sides, super-comfy to work with even at high torque tasks. Same for HAZET's 603 model. PROXXON and some (!) GEDORE cut into my hands even when using mechanic's gloves. Really old-school BELZER No. 1952 & 1953 models are nice to the touch, too, but not as comfy as STAHWILLE & HAZET, in my humble opinion and experience.
Do you find yourself using the shallow offset Corona more frequently that the deep offset 20-series? If I'm just getting into the Stahlwille ecosystem would you go 12, 17 (ratcheting) and then box end?
Just a comment on Knipex vs Knipex off the tool truck such as Matco. When you wear out the tool, if you bought it from Knipex you get tot buy it again as they do not cover normal wear and tear. If you bought it from Matco they will warranty it. Are you paying the tool truck tax, yes. I use my Knipex Cobra pliers a lot and wear them out and my Matco guy gives me a new pair. Well worth the tool truck premium IMO.
Normal tool wear isn't a warranty issue. Defects in material and workmanship are, but not normal wear from use. You're lucking up with the dealer you have. Hopefully his warranties aren't auditied. Snap-on randomly audits our warranty returns for fraudulent claims.
@@MrSubaru1387 I had no idea. I was willing to pay for a new pair but he told me he could warranty it. I won’t feel bad if he gets charged back for it.
I did a price comparison on several typical German products the WINNER - HFG $ 1,412 USD Amazon.DE $ 1.650 USD and KC tools $ 2,131, shipping would be more from HFG to Canada, In a separate test HAZET 179NXL Tool trolley, HFG $ 2,143 KC tools $ 3,541. $ 1400 more at KC
I'd agree, many of the sizes of pliers wrench are useful for automotive, If you had to narrow it down, the 86 03 180 is comparable to, if slightly smaller than a regular 8 in. crescent wrench. It handles alot of jobs and has narrow enough jaws to manipulate things precisely. The 86 03 250 has thicker jaws and is more like a 22 mil wrench in length and leverage, also useful I bought a large set of these knipex, so the pain was over quickly :P they are very useful, and do a lot more than just turn bolts
